The African Union has had a draft resolution that will merge the current continental judicial bodies- the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court of Justice and Human Rights- into one judicial body- African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights. Part of the resolution proposes that the new court should have an enhanced criminal jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide on the continent. Without getting into the merits or demerits of such a step, the sting is in the tail of additional proposed changes. Continue reading
Cyber Espionage Prosecution: U.S. v. Dong
Written by: Regina Paulose
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued[1] indictments against five Chinese military officers. The indictments[2] charge each defendant with up to 30 counts which include crimes of conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse, accessing or attempting to access a protected computer without authorization, transmitting a code (etc.) with intent to cause damage to computers, aggravated identity theft, economic espionage, and trade secret theft. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of the five men. Continue reading
Early Release in International Criminal Law
Written by: Jonathan Choi
The drama of international criminal justice is mostly in the initial conviction and sentencing; few reporters investigate what happens to the convict after she is locked away, and few academics consider why or how she is released. Continue reading
“Equality of Arms” and its Effect on the Quality of Justice at the ICC
Written by: Tosin Osasona [1]
The concept of equality of arms has a dinstinctive European origin and can be traced back to the medieval era, when dispute was settled by ordeal of trial by battle. Because the trial would be to death, a rigid set of rules were put in place to ensure parity between contestants and each contestant was put at par in terms of armament and armor.[2] This worldview midwived the common law system of adversarial proceeding. Continue reading
On the Illegality of Crimean Secession under International Law
Contemporary application of the principle of territorial integrity under International law raises serious concerns. Arguably, this issue is becoming popular once again now that the Crimean referendum has finally taken place with 95% of the Crimean population having voted for secession of Crimea from Ukraine,[1] which, in turn, renders the interests of the people of Crimea claiming secession incompatible with territorial interests of Ukraine. Continue reading
